Monday, December 18, 2006

The Greatest Story on Earth

It was 11 PM. I was in Charlotte, North Carolina and returning to my hotel room after a wedding. I turned on the television, hoping to get a mindless rerun, but to my surprise….I got an evangelical sermon!! The preacher was encapsulating his sermon into four points. The first of these points was: “There Cannot be Another Holocaust”. He reminded his audience about Genesis 12:3, God’s promise to Abraham (“in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed”) and then explained how Christians must protect Jews, and how critical Jewish survival is to the world. I was pleasantly surprised by the content, and thought to myself:

“Hallelujah!!”.

It is gratifying to see that many Christians are now dedicated to preserving our survival. (I’m sure my great grandfather would have found this hard to believe.) . But at the same time I was saddened. How many Jews think this way about themselves? How many of us take Genesis 12:3 as an inspiration?

I know some expressions of Jewish uniqueness can be arrogant and triumphalistic; however, for Jews to therefore ignore their own story is foolish. Even a casual observer cannot overlook the epic history of the Jews. As Winston Churchill put it: "Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world." Many non-Jews, like Churchill and this preacher, recognize the remarkable Jewish heritage. Simply put, the Jews have the most remarkable story in history.

And yet, too many Jews ignore their own story. Leon Weiseltier calls them “slacker Jews”, who are content with a trivial “lox and bagels Judaism”, and are too lazy to learn about their own heritage. The little they do know is negative, and relates to the Holocaust and other catastrophes. It’s a shame that too many Jews have no idea what Genesis 12:3 is about, or why a preacher on late night TV is preaching about Jewish destiny.

It’s time to stop being “slacker Jews”. If we want to be part of the greatest story on earth, we better know something about it. We need to go beyond the tragic and the trivial.

The Talmud tells about Rabbi Hanina Ben Teradyon’s martyrdom. Hanina was wrapped in a Torah scroll, and together they were burned at the stake. As Hanina was dying, he told his students that as he saw the Torah’s parchment burning, but the letters flying in the air.

Hanina is telling us an important message: Beyond the destruction, there is inspiration. Despite the burning parchment, the letters live on, ready to inspire another generation. The flying letters are the key to a Jewish future.

The Jewish future cannot be about ashes alone. We need to catch the flying letters, and tell the greatest story on earth.

Here's a second version of thie previous op-ed (see below), written for Jewish papers and more critical of the media's motives in constantly emphasizing the Neturei Karta in their stories. I hope to send it out to different Jewish papers this week.

Why are the Neturei Karta Media Darlings?

It infuriates mainstream Jews. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, organizes a conference devoted to Holocaust denial, and a group of Hassidic Jews, the Neturei Karta, attend. They repeat Ahmadinejad’s anti-Israel slogans, and even partially agree with his Holocaust denial theories. Of course, all of this is diligently covered by the media, and newspapers are sure to feature pictures of bearded, caftan wearing Neturei Karta members shaking hands with Ahmadinejad. Indeed, newspaper articles on virtually every anti-Israel protest are accompanied by a picture of the Neutrei Karta holding signs proclaiming “stop Zionist atrocities”. The Neturei Karta are upsetting enough; even more infuriating is the ridiculous amount of attention lavished on this group by the media. All of this invites the question: Why are the Neturei Karta media darlings?

The Neturei Karta are a miniscule group, with a thousand or two supporters worldwide. Historically, they are a mid-1930’s radical breakaway from the Edah Hacharedis, the main anti-Zionist organization in Jerusalem. After the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel, other ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionists softened their views, and the Neturei Karta found themselves more isolated than ever. In turn, the Neturei Karta’s theology grew even more radical, and the behavior of its leaders increasingly bizarre. For example, a leader of a Neturei Karta affiliated group currently living in St. Agathe, Quebec, Rabbi Shlomo Elbarnes (Helbrans), spent time in a U.S. jail for kidnapping. For the Neturei Karta, anti-Zionism is the focus of their theology, and as a consequence, they demonize all Zionists as disciples of Satan.

Virtually all Jews are appalled by the support that the Neturei Karta gives to Israel’s anti-Semitic enemies. Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, the group’s elder statesman, has close ties to the Palestinian leadership, and was on Yasser Arafat’s payroll. The Neturei Karta maintain close ties to Iran as well. In June 2000, Rabbi Yisroel David Weiss supported Iran’s accusations that 13 Jews had spied for Israel; this, while governments around the world protested these false arrests. Neturei Karta’s leaders have cultivated relationships with Louis Farrakhan, and Abu Hamza, a radical British cleric later imprisoned under Britain’s Terrorism Act. Because of their bizarre behavior, they have been condemned multiple times by other ultra-Orthodox groups, and they are viewed by them as infuriating oddities. Simply put, the Neturei Karta are a fringe group, far less relevant than the Hare Krishna.

Yet, despite being a marginal phenomena, the Neturei Karta receive a lot of media attention. Certainly, the Neturei Karta work tirelessly at public relations, issuing press releases, placing advertisements, and traveling all over North America to march with any anti-Israel group. But the media attention given to the Neturei Karta goes beyond successful PR.

Some of the outsized attention given to the Neturei Karta has to do with journalistic practice. There is shoddy journalism; many journalists are ignorant of the Jewish community, and have no idea that the Neturei Karta are a fringe group. In addition, journalists are swept away by the Neturei Karta’s flowing beards and billowing caftans. As Hassidic Jews, they are exotic figures who seem to have stepped straight out of the 18th century. Because of this, the Neturei Karta are the perfect photo op. And in an image driven media culture, photo ops are the news.

The Neturei Karta’s protests are also a “man bites dog” story. Here you have very Jewish-looking Jews denouncing Israel, the Jewish state. The value of this story becomes magnified in what Deborah Tannen called “an argument culture”. Contemporary media, much like pro wrestling, thrives on conflict. In that regard, the Neturei Karta are the “Hulk Hogan” of pro-Israel events, protesting in order to irritate and annoy, hoping their protests will start fistfights with supporters of Israel. All of these factors encourage journalists to turn kitschy performance art into a front page story.

While poor journalism is forgivable, of greater concern is the ideological bias behind the media’s fascination with the Neturei Karta. In a politically correct culture that despises military action and assigns moral superiority to any victim, Israel is the ultimate bully. Journalists who sympathize with the Palestinian cause find Jewish solidarity with Israel puzzling. These journalists are left searching in vain for some sort of internal Jewish discord over Israel’s right to exist. When they discover the Neturei Karta, they accept them uncritically, because the Neturei Karta offer a story of internal debate unavailable elsewhere.

Sadly, when journalists give the Neturei Karta prominent coverage, they have taken a circus sideshow and put it on the front page. There are many important debates about the Middle East, but instead of those, these journalists have chosen to focus on a fringe phenomenon and consider it newsworthy.

It’s a shame the media seems to make this journalistic mistake, over and over again.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The Neturei Karta Are a Bunch of Circus Freaks

Everyone seems to be agog about the Neturei Karta Ultra-Orthodox Jews who participated in a conference on Holocaust denial. (It seems their hatred for Israel trumps their love for Jews.) Anyway, as far I can see, they are a tiny group of bizarre misfits, and sort of Jewish circus freaks. I'm including below an article I wrote that was previously published in the Gazette this August.

Why Are Fringe Rabbis on the Front Page?

No news story about an anti-Israel protest would be complete without a quote from a member of the Neutrei Karta, a group of Ultra- Orthodox Jews who oppose Israel. Indeed, at a recent anti-Israel rally, the Montreal Gazette, put a picture of a Hassid holding a placard on its front page. But who are the Neturei Karta, and are they truly newsworthy?

In the early 1900’s, before the State of Israel existed, Zionism was debated among Orthodox Jews. A significant group supported Mizrachi, a religious Zionist organization that worked together with secular Zionists. However, many Orthodox Jews rejected Zionism. Some, part of a coalition called Agudath Israel, were concerned by the lack of religiosity in the secular Zionist leadership. A much smaller group, coalescing around ultra-Orthodox groups in Hungary and the Edah Hacharedis organization in Jerusalem, took the extreme view Zionism was a heresy. In their view, Jewish belief in a Messiah obliged loyal Jews to wait for the Messianic redemption, rather than take matters into their own hands. The group most prominent in contemporary demonstrations, the Neturei Karta, was formed in the mid-1930’s as a radical breakaway from the Edah Hacharedis.

The Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel transformed Orthodox views on Zionism. Rabbi Issacher Shlomo Teichtal, a prominent anti-Zionist, became a religious Zionist because of the Holocaust. Formerly anti-Zionist groups, such as the Hassidic communities of Belz, Klausenberg, and Lubavitch, adopted a more positive and pragmatic view toward the new Jewish state. Indeed, Agudath Israel had its representatives sign Israel’s Declaration of Independence. For most Orthodox Jews, rejectionist anti-Zionism was a matter of the past. Even many of those who have retained an anti-Zionist stance, such as Satmar Hassidim, currently value Israel as place where Jews can live in safety, and refuse to make any common cause with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Today, the Neturei Karta have about 1,000 supporters. Finding themselves more isolated than ever, the Neturei Karta’s theology has grown even more radical, and the behavior of its leaders is increasingly bizarre. For example, a leader of a Neturei Karta affiliated group currently living in St. Agathe, Rabbi Shlomo Elbarnes, spent time in a U.S. jail for kidnapping a teenager. For today’s Neturei Karta, anti-Zionism is the focus of their theology, and as a consequence, they demonize all Zionists as disciples of Satan.

Indeed, the Neturei Karta are enamored of Israel’s enemies and even anti-Semites. Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, the group’s elder statesman, has close ties to the Palestinian leadership, and was on Yasser Arafat’s payroll. These Neturei Karta maintain close ties to Iran’s radical regime as well. In June 2000, Rabbi Yisroel David Weiss supported Iran’s accusations that 13 Jews had spied for Israel; this, while governments around the world protested these false arrests. Neturei Karta’s leaders have also cultivated relationships with Louis Farrakhan, an American preacher known for his anti-Semitism, and Abu Hamza, a radical British cleric later imprisoned under Britain’s Terrorism Act. Because of their bizarre views and behavior, they have been condemned multiple times by other ultra-Orthodox groups, and they are viewed as infuriating oddities. Frankly, the Neturei Karta are a fringe group, even less relevant than the Amish or the Raelians.

Yet, despite being a marginal phenomena, the Neturei Karta receive a lot of media attention. Certainly, the Neturei Karta work tirelessly at public relations, issuing press releases, buying the occasional advertisement, and traveling all over North America to join with any anti-Israel group they can find. Due to sympathetic journalists, they manage to get a lot of media attention.

Of course, the Neturei Karta seem made for media. People are fascinated by Hassidic Jews in general, as exotic figures who seem to have stepped straight out of the 18th century. For journalists, the caftan wearing extremists of the Neturei Karta are an exotic “man bites dog” story, with very Jewish-looking Jews denouncing Israel. Indeed, Jewish solidarity with Israel puzzles many journalists, and leaves them searching in vain for some sort of internal Jewish discord. The Neturei Karta offer a story of internal debate unavailable elsewhere.

Contemporary media, much like pro wrestling, thrives on conflict. In that regard, the Neturei Karta are the “Andre the Giant” of pro-Israel events, protesting in order to irritate and annoy, hoping this will initiate conflict with supporters of Zionism. Sadly, when journalists give the Neturei Karta prominent coverage, they have taken a circus sideshow and put it on the front page. There are many important debates about the Middle East, but instead of those, these journalists have chosen to focus on a fringe phenomenon and consider it newsworthy.

It’s a shame the media seems to make this journalistic mistake, over and over again.